Sylvia Sanchez

BS Business Admin

"There’s nothing that can’t be worked out."

In the heart of New Orleans, L.A., Sylvia Sanchez is an active duty military servicemember. She’s been in the military since she was 17 years old. A single mom of two children, Sylvia is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in business administration.

Her kids, Anabelle, 9, and Seth, 7, are very proud of their mom and the family can often be found working on homework together. Most nights, though, Sylvia is up until the early hours of the morning, determined to get all of her schoolwork done once the kids are finally settled in to bed. Her schedule is jam packed: Up at 6am, to daycare for 7am, at work by 7:30am, pick up the kids at 4:30pm, cook dinner, get the kids bathed and into to bed, and then it’s homework and other responsibilities. Sylvia said if she’s lucky, she is in bed by 2am.

When Hurricane Isaac hit in 2012, Sylvia was working 24/7 with two teams, working in 12 to 14 hour shifts. The strain on her scheduling caused issues when it came to keeping up with her courses. John Paine, her military academic advisor, stepped in and offered a solution. Taking a proactive and supportive stance, John says, “There’s nothing that can’t be worked out.” That’s what SNHU advisors do; they work with their students to support their success.

SNHU stepped up again when the government sequestration affected military education benefits, providing scholarships to currently enrolled students. “SNHU’s response was amazing. I felt very fortunate to have SNHU during sequestration,” Sylvia said. “Other friends in the military at other schools didn’t have this good fortune.”